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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation
Published on: October 31, 2019
Isolation and characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoate-degrading bacteria in seawater at two different depths from
Shin-Ichi Hachisuka1, Tetsuo Sakurai1, Shoji Mizuno1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology , Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
Importance:
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a highly biodegradable microbial polyester, even in marine environments. In this study, we incorporated an enrichment culture-like approach in the process of isolating marine PHA-degrading bacteria. The resulting 91 isolates were suggested to fall into five genera (Alloalcanivorax, Alteromonas, Arenicella, Microbacterium, and Pseudoalteromonas) based on 16S rRNA analysis, including two novel genera (Arenicella and Microbacterium) as marine PHA-degrading bacteria. Microbacterium schleiferi (DSM 20489) and Alteromonas macleodii (NBRC 102226), the type strains closest to the several isolates, have an extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] depolymerase homolog that does not fit a marine-type domain composition. However, A. macleodii exhibited no PHA degradation ability, unlike M. schleiferi. This result demonstrates that the isolated Alteromonas spp. are different species from A. macleodii. P(3HB) depolymerase homologs in the genus Alteromonas should be scrutinized in the future, particularly about which ones work as the depolymerase.
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